The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Need help with secret ingredient

Anonymous baker's picture
Anonymous baker (not verified)

Need help with secret ingredient

I have an idea about adding an ingredient but not going to divulge just yet. The only thing I'm saying is that it has the consistency of apple sauce. 

My question is... If I'm doing the 1:2:3 recipe with 100% hydration levain, which makes the final dough 71% hydration, how would I go about adding this ingredient all the while keeping the same consistency? 

If one is adding in something like apple sauce then what percentage is the usual? 

suave's picture
suave

Apple sauce is like almost any other fruit puree contains 90% water. 

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

And how much is usual for adding ingredients like this?

Thanks Suave 

suave's picture
suave

I don't see why you can't add all liquid this way.  That's how they do it for Normandy-style apple ryes, right?

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

Use all the liquid from the apple sauce? So flour, starter and sauce? Can it be done that way? I'd have never thought. Haven't heard of Normandy Ryes but I'll certainly check them out for ideas. 

I've already put together the dough and included what I guessed was a good amount to add. Time will tell. 

suave's picture
suave

Why not?  With 1-2-3 you are adding some 20 g of dry material, and some of it will be sugars and organic acids and pectin, but I don't think it's going to be a deal breaker - after all apples do ferment.

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

I think I'd try half and half ('applesauce' and water) for the water portion of the dough, then add a little bit of water while mixing the dough if needed to get the texture you want.

Are you going to tell us the secret once baked? :)

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

So here's what I did. A 1:2:3 recipe with a 100% hydration starter results in a 71% hydration dough. Because the starter (Levain build) was whole rye and the final dough had a high percentage of whole-wheat I decided it was ok to add enough "secret ingredient :)" to make the dough 78% hydrated. Whether it's enough to make a difference we'll see. 

Thanks for the advice and if all goes well I'll incorporate more into the dough. 

Clues... 

It's Japanese, fermented, made out of rice, naturally sweet and can be used in desserts, baking or even made into a drink. 

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

Sweet and fermented sounds awesome. :)

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Is it Amakaze? Google is my friend. ;-)

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

The secret is out :)

syros's picture
syros

So what is it and how does it look and taste?

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazake

Fermented rice. Out of the jar it's almost like a soft pudding. Never tried it in baking but lovely as a hot drink.

Dough smelled great. Pushed the fermentation time to the limit I think. Shaping is not my forte and the dough got sticky! Did my best, threw it in a banneton and chucked it into the fridge. Hopefully all doesn't go south when it comes to baking. The last few weeks the new starter has been slow. So this week when I'm more adventurous pushing it to its limit it speeds up on me - result of the amazake? I have a feeling I might end up with a Ciabatta. 

Truth Serum's picture
Truth Serum

Abe, 

Its not about the final loaf its about the process.

Happy Baking!

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

that often one thinks it's gone perfectly only to end up with a flop and other times one can think it hasn't gone well to be pleasantly surprised. 

Whatever the case you are right. It has been fun. Thank you. 

MichaelLily's picture
MichaelLily

Tartine 3 has an amakaze bread recipe. I could look for it if you are interested.

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

I would love that Michael. If it's not too much trouble. Thank you! 

It's in the oven and looking good.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

a preferment? Wonder if it can raise a loaf by itself...
speed up the ferment or slow it down???